NBA Scouting Reports, Southeastern Division (Part 2)May 9, 2008Overview: A scoring point guard who has increasingly learned to defer to others, particularly in 07-08. Decent size for the point guard spot. Pretty strong. Very quick first step. Not explosive vertically. Ball handling skills accentuate his athleticism. Brings a lot to the table as a distributor when he sets his mind on it. Has a decent jumper as well, mostly from mid-range. Has a flair that most other players don't bring to the game. Plays with creativity and has a passion for winning. Had a very productive career at Florida International, but went undrafted. Proved more in international competition for Puerto Rico than he did as a collegiate. Really a force to be reckoned with on that level. Can do some nice things in NBA, but is more of a complimentary player than a star, largely due to his deficiencies on the defensive end. Very active in Hispanic American community. Twin, Alberto, is a professional basketball player in their native country.

Offense: A talented player who can score and get his teammates involved effectively. Gets almost four fifths of his offense as the ball handler in pick and roll situations. Possesses a solid shooting stroke and can function as a pretty consistent catch and shoot player inside the arc. Much more efficient off the dribble. Great pull up shooter. Not a 3-point shooter. Very good ball handler, although has a tendency to over-dribble at times. Knows how to create separation with his crossover. Rarely takes the ball all the way to the rim, shows very good touch on his finger roll, but isn't explosive enough to make it there with consistency. Shoots a good percentage from the free throw line, although he rarely gets there. Functions primarily as a distributor in his latest reincarnation under Stan Van Gundy. Does a good job driving and dishing. Good at getting his teammates involved. Solid assist to turnover ratio. Gets the ball up the floor in a hurry. Shot-selection is often questionable—settles for too many contested pull-up jumpers.

Defense: A fairly poor defender who lacks the physical tools to guard starting NBA point guards. Combination of size, strength and lateral quickness is fairly average. Not focused or intense enough to compensate for that. Doesn't always recover to the ball as well as he needs to. Will make an effort to board long rebounds. Will take some risks, but isn't a play maker. Needs to show more consistent intensity. [Read Full Article]FIBA World Championship Preview: Group D, Part OneAugust 17, 2006Coming into this championship right in the prime of his career and straight off playing some of the best basketball in his career after being traded from the Detroit Pistons, Carlos Arroyo will shoulder the burden of the scoring and ball-handling load for an always pesky and talented team from one of the most passionate basketball countries in the world.

The Puerto Ricans will go as far as their headstrong point guard will lead them, as Arroyo is capable of absolutely erupting at times to bury nearly any opponent. He is also prone to devastating bouts of inconsistency and unpredictability that can make him go from an incredibly productive consummate lead guard to the hapless, disorganized undersized shooting guard that went undrafted almost instantaneously.

Confidence has never been a problem for this often electrifying shot-creator, for better or for worse. For him, every shot he takes is a good one, and there is no such thing as a tough situation that a little nifty dribbling and wild floater can’t get him out of.

Arroyo excels at using his outstanding ball-handling skills to keep defenders on their heels all game long. He is a master at using screens to get by his man and either pull-up for a sweet mid-range jumper or find the open man creatively spotting up on the wing.

His in-between game is probably the best attribute he brings to the table, showing a terrific knack for getting his shot off in awkward situations either from 14-16 feet out off the dribble or making his way to the basket and kissing it high off the glass. Arroyo is equally adept at driving either left or right and controls the ball on the move as if he’s handling it on a string.

His court vision is average and he is prone to severe mental lapses in which he will seemingly implode and just heave up difficult shots with multiple hands in his face or run into bricks walls uncontrollably, but when he is on, there isn’t a player at this championship who can stop him from getting his shot off. In the NBA Arroyo struggles at times to finish around the basket due to his lack of size, length, strength and explosiveness, but at the International level this becomes less of a concern due to the lesser emphasis on athletic shot-blockers.

His biggest weakness by far has to be his perimeter shot, though, noticeably lacking range once he steps out of his 15-17 foot comfort zone in which he is a threat to pull up and knock down shots with absolutely no hesitation whatsoever. How honest he can keep defenses from sagging off him in anticipation of the drive could play a large role in whether or not Puerto Rico can make it to the next stage.

Most NBA coaches won’t stand for how dominant he is offensively with the ball in his hands, but the Puerto Rican national team simply has no choice but to give him the rock and just hope for the best. [Read Full Article]